LONDON - The S&P 500 and Dow Jones indexes opened higher on Thursday, boosted by Boeing shares as the planemaker resumed production of its 737 MAX jets, but simmering tensions between the United States and China kept investors on edge.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 149.09 points, or 0.58 percent, at the open to 25,697.36, and the S&P 500 opened higher by 10.48 points, or 0.35 percent, at 3,046.61. But the Nasdaq Composite dropped 19.36 points, or 0.21 percent, to 9,392.99 at the opening bell.

European shares rose for a fourth straight session on Thursday and the euro perched at a two-month high, as businesses returning to work with a 750 billion euro EU stimulus plan. 

Traders diving back into the markets after Wednesday’s EU plan to prop up the bloc’s coronavirus-hit economies pushed the region-wide STOXX 600 index up more than 1 percent to a fresh 11-week high, led by a 2 percent jump in travel & leisure stocks.

The euro enjoyed the view at US$1.1006, having risen to a two-month high. It also held at the near three-month high hit versus the neighbouring Swiss franc the previous day, while the dollar was largely quiet.

Euro zone bond yields were relatively stable too, with Italian borrowing costs - a key European confidence indicator - edging towards new eight-week lows. Safe-haven German bonds sold off slightly.

Overnight, MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan ended flat, having been in positive territory earlier in the day.

Shares in Hong Kong skidded as much 1.75 percent before ending down 0.7 percent as Chinese mainland shares managed to close in positive territory. Japan’s Nikkei jumped 2.3 percent though US stock futures lost momentum in Europe to trade only 0.2 percent higher.

Yields on 10-year US Treasuries fell slightly to 0.6786 percent. Although they are up from an all-time low of 0.4980 percent struck in March, they are still a whopping 120 basis points below highs seen in January.

China’s yuan meanwhile gained around 0.1 percent, edging away from its record low of 7.1699 per dollar in international markets.

Commodity markets groaned. US crude futures fell to as low as US$31.14 a barrel, before recovering slightly, and were last at US$32.51. Brent crude was at US$34.52, down 0.6 percent on the day.

Saudi Arabia and some other OPEC oil producers are considering extending record high output cuts until the end of 2020 but have yet to win support from Russia, according to OPEC+ and Russian industry sources.